


Caffé Sole

by fakeivy



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Romance, recursive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22325113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fakeivy/pseuds/fakeivy
Summary: "... in another life I think he would have been a normal teacher. The kind that takes an interest in the lives of their students and really makes a positive impact in their lives.I wonder, if he had the chance... would he like to be?Skip a stone in the space-time continuum and see who you end up as."
Relationships: Reborn/Inari
Comments: 70
Kudos: 533





	1. il fantasma dell'opera

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlligatorEyes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlligatorEyes/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Sass and Win](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20004889) by [AlligatorEyes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlligatorEyes/pseuds/AlligatorEyes). 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AlligatorEyes has Work Aggro so I'm giving them a gift to get them through it, in celebration of confirmed Reborn/Inari. :3

He was not looking forward to this class.

He slumped over his desk, pillowing his head in his arms in preparation of the torture to come.

Math had never been his strong suit.

And then his Statistics teacher walked through the door. Sharply dressed: suit, tie, the works. An exceptionally pretty face topped with a fedora. 

_Hello Nurse._

Sitting up straight in interest, he glanced at his schedule.

“Renato Sinclair, huh.”

He grinned.

Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all.

\---

He took back what he'd said, everything was awful.

Nothing against the guy, but he'd lost the thread of the lecture pretty much from the beginning. All of his notes were just a jumble of word-for-word note-taking, diagrams, and endless questions.

Along with a whole lot of stylized curls in the margins, but he's trying to ignore his crush on his teacher so he can pass this class. 

A class which is required for his major. 

“Yeeeeeeah, this isn't gonna work.”

He sighed.

Nothing for it then. He'll have to ask for help.

Looking to the front where Sinclair was surrounded by most of the female population of the class, he amended his statement.

After all those ladies leave.

Which surprisingly took less time than he would have thought. 

_He must be used to people throwing themselves at him._

Anyways, he's stalling.

Walking near the front caused Sinclair's eyes to snap to him.

His very pretty eyes, looking down at him because he is so short compared to this man.

Which instantly caused him to blush.

And when he has pretty much any kind of emotional imbalance, he tends to babble.

And thus.

“Hey, uh, Sinclair? Are there gonna be any supplementary tutoring sessions available for this class? Cause I understood like, none of that, and if this's how the whole class is gonna be I'm gonna need a lot of help, like so much help you have no idea, well maybe you do have an idea, I don't know how long you've been a teacher, but anyways yeah...”

He trailed off, blushing harder as he noticed the smirk growing on Sinclair's face.

“Follow me.”

“Uh. Okay?”

What followed was a pretty calm 10 minute walk through the campus. He made sure to stay on Sinclair's left side which got him an eye flick and a raised brow. He wasn't sure what he could say, so like all of his actions ever since this situation had started, he winged it.

“I didn't want to get in the way of your draw arm.”

Which actually got Sinclair to stop and turn towards him.

“Ho?” He drawled, eyes glittering. With interest, perhaps?

“You're quite perceptive. And calm for being around someone armed.”

He shrugged, blush returning full force.

“It's an essential skill for my career.”

“Hmm, 'Strategic Science and Diplomatic Sciences', was it?”

“That's a lot of words for 'diplomat', but yeah...wait. You know my major?”

Sinclair tossed a smirk back at him as he continued walking to their destination.

“I make a point to learn about my students in advance, Inari Tsukishima.”

He shivered.

Having a man as sexy as his teacher say his name that way should be illegal, goddamn.

Their destination turned out to be a cafe by the name of Caffe Sole. Rich warm wood floor and furniture, windows everywhere letting in the sunlight, and sunflowers growing in various pots around the cafe.

The lady behind the counter brightened up when she saw us walk in.

“Hey boss! What do you need?”

“An espresso for me, and...” Sinclair motions to me.

“Uh, caramel macchiato?”

“And a caramel macchiato, both to be delivered to the private room Gabriella, thank you.”

“You got it boss!”

Following Sinclair through another doorway led them into a very cozy room. Which was soundproofed from the sounds of it, considering the bustle of the cafe was cut off once the door closed behind them.

Sinclair took a seat and motioned for him to do the same.

“Now, let's hear those questions you had.”

What followed was the most comprehensive and intense study session he'd ever had.

He was too busy writing things down to do more than send Gabriella a smile in thanks when she brought in their coffee.

Which was excellent; he mourned when he lifted his cup for another sip and found it empty.

Sinclair's mouth twitched at his jokingly despairing expression as he stared into the depths of his empty cup.

“Time for a break?”

“Pleeeeeease.”

Sinclair picked both their cups up, which just gave him another example of how graceful he was; definitely some sort of training in moving, more precise and economical, no-movement-wasted than straight up grace, though if he followed through with some of those movements he'd be seduction personified and then he'd be straight-up slain, he'd die, he'd-

_Man he's really got it bad, doesn't he?_

He's had instant crushes before, but not quite to this intensity.

He tapped his pen in a rhythm on the table as he thought.

_What exactly is attracting him so much?_

His teacher is indeed very very pretty, but he's met pretty assholes before, so it's not just his looks.

Maybe his intelligence? Or how despite how intelligent he is, or maybe because of it, he's trying to find the best way to convey the information to him in a way he easily understands?

_He's a good teacher._

Maybe those bursts of amusement that cause his eyes to glitter whenever he makes a joke or a sarcastic observation? Because there's only so long he can be flustered before he reaches equilibrium again.

And equilibrium for him means he's back to being a mouthy little shit.

His rhythm slows.

Maybe that's it? Sinclair genuinely enjoys him when he's being himself. 

He sat back, hand stopping.

_That's it, isn't it?_

He's been training for his career for a couple years now, which calls for a lot of self-editing; diplomacy being what it is, he can't just pop off with the first thing that comes to mind unless he wants an international disaster on his hands.

It's...nice, to be liked for who he is, no filters.

He's grinning when Sinclair returns.

Which has Sinclair eyeing him.

He waved his hand.

“Don't worry about it, and thank you.”

He took his new coffee from him and took a sip, humming in delight.

“The coffee here's so good.”

“I'm glad to hear that.”

“Oh yeah, by the way, 'boss'? What's up with that?”

“This cafe is mine.”

“Yours? That's cool, man. What made you want a cafe?”

“I got tired of incompetent baristas making my order wrong. So I staged a takeover of the nearest cafe to campus and taught them myself.”

That answer startled a giggle out of him.

“Oh man, that's great.”

Sinclair smirked in a self-satisfied way.

“It is, isn't it?”

They lapsed into companionable silence for a bit while they drank more of their coffee before Inari thought to ask something he'd been wondering since this roller coaster of a situation had started.

“Hey so this is extremely helpful and I'm really grateful, but if I'm not gonna understand the main lectures and need extra help every time, and you're probably really busy, do you know any tutors?”

“That wont be a problem,” Sinclair said, setting his espresso cup down with a decisive click.

“You're my only student this semester.”

Inari tilted his head in confusion.

“Pretty sure I'm not? There were at least 20 other students in that classroom.”

Sinclair shook his head.

“The rest of your class will be taught by my teaching assistant. I test my students on the first day by giving a lecture that deals with a combination of everything you would have learned through the course of the class; basically an end-of-term lecture.

“You're the only one that admitted you needed help.”

His lips curled into a smile.

“And you just learned all of it in a couple hours.”

He sat there, stunned, staring at Sinclair.

“What?”

“I only teach the best. So let's see how far you can go, shall we?”

_”What!?”_

And that's how he got a hot teacher all to himself for a semester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reborn's birth name has never been confirmed (or at least I've never been able to find a credible source), but I'd probably still use Renato Sinclair anyways because it's my favorite name for him.
> 
> I scattered in some interesting little easter eggs. :3  
> Mostly because I was gonna go for straight up romance and then got hit over the head with a backstory and plot.


	2. ercole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alli's work has died down, everyone rejoice! \o/

Renato was not used to his students sticking around.

Especially the ones he'd driven to excellence.

He was used to them freezing, inwardly screaming in terror, making the most awkward polite smalltalk in the universe, and then power-walking away at a pace only one step removed from a run.

They never sought him out; in fact, he suspected they did all in their power to actively avoid him.

As a teacher he's used to giving his students a way to contact him, so when Inari asked to exchange contact info he didn't think anything of it. They were both adults with busy schedules, so it made sense to have a way to immediately contact each other if something came up.

But Inari surprised him.

Even after his class came to an end, he kept in contact, not only through text messages but also by seeking him out in person.

“Yo Renato! Can I mooch a coffee off you? I'm going on 48 hours without sleep and if I don't get more caffeine in me soon I'm gonna pass out and then I'll fail my Game and Political Theory class and we can't have that, it'd hurt my gamer cred.”

A tired smile directed his way, eyes warm.

“Game Theory in International Relations has very little to do with gaming,” he replied dryly, leading the way to his cafe.

“Say that to the one thousand plus hours I have in Civ5.”

“Why, did you want me to sweet talk the numbers again?”

“Dude please, you talking math is the most calming, relaxing shit I know, so I'd love to listen, but I'm trying to stay awake here. Next time I have insomnia though I'll call you and ask you to talk me a mathematical lullaby, kay?”

A lopsided grin, sincerity shining through.

In that moment, Inari stood in stark contrast to his past students. 

Despite the continuous slang he used.

_Where did he learn his English?_

It was nice, to have someone that wanted to spend time with him just for him, not for what he could teach or give.

_He's...charming._

And charm needs to be matched with charm.

He curled his arm around Inari's waist, delighting in the blush that instantly spread across his cheeks.

“It wouldn't do for you to pass out here on the street, so I'll refrain for now. But I'll save one of my theses just for you. So call me soon, won't you?” He purred.

He grinned at the shrill teapot-boiling-over noise he got in reply.

\---

Diplomacy involves a lot of dissembling.

“It's wonderful to see you again.”

It's an art; a masterful dance between truth and lie, shades of meaning overlapping to form a web waiting to catch you, to trap you or to save you, constantly moving and changing as your partners on the dance floor enter and exit.

“Have you seen Mr. Rorcester? I had a question I've been meaning to ask him.”

And the only way to get better at dissembling is to practice.

“I see your point, but what if we took a more moderate approach to this?”

In all the languages you know.

“Excusez-moi, mais j'ai entendu votre commentaire sur la facture d'immigration..."

“Che dire di un cessate il fuoco?”

“Gomenasai mou ichido kudasai.”

Over and over again until you learn how to hold your poise and keep the upper hand.

“I do believe you're out of line here; perhaps we should call a recess for you to regain your lost composure?”

And practice is easier with a partner.

\---

“Hey Renato? Can I work at your cafe for a bit?”

“Isn't your time full enough already? And why?”

“Yeah I'm drowning a bit, but I really wanna learn to make coffee how you like it, as a thank you for your help.”

Renato was startled, both by the words and the blush they caused.

_So direct._

“...Thank you.”

A cheeky grin.

“That's what I should be saying.”

\---

They both were sitting in the private room, completely exhausted from the ending of the harrowing situation they had just resolved.

“Inari.”

“Yeah?”

“What the **fuck**.”

“...Sorry?”

“I leave you for 10 minutes, confident you can manage the cafe for a short time, and I come back only to be dragged into a desperate race against the clock to decipher a bomber group's clues to the locations of the bombs they've set around our fair city of Roma,” Renato growled, his accent appearing in his normally accentless English. Stress always made him want to default to his Italian birth language.

“I'm as surprised as you are; the team was just gonna quickly recharge with coffee before they got back into it, but one of the newer members is an acquaintance of mine, and as soon as he saw me he just unloaded the whole situation onto me. And you returned right then, so you got dragged into it as well.”

Renato gave that explanation the flat look it deserved.

“I don't care that I was dragged in, I care that you jumped headfirst into a dangerous situation without even a modicum of training in the relevant field.”

“The first clue had already placed the first bomb on campus grounds--without knowing how large the blast radius would be, there was no point in running. So my options were to cower and place my life in the hands of others...or jump in and help. Of course I'm gonna pick the second option.

“This is my life and I make my own fate.”

He was momentarily struck speechless by the intensity of Inari's words, before he gathered his composure to dryly say:

“I've known you for long enough to know when you're quoting something at me.”

The answering grin he got in return was blinding.

“Welcome to friendship with a Tsukishima.”

\---

The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma was exceedingly grateful for the discovery and subsequent removal of the bomb that had been planted on their premises.

Their gratitude took the form of free tickets to any of their shows, to everyone in the team that had stopped the bomber group.

Since that included Renato and Inari by a quirk of fate, they found themselves contemplating the offer.

“Did you wanna go see something together?” Inari asked.

“You don't have anyone else you'd wish to take? Friends, family, a lover?” He raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

“In reverse order: I'm not in a relationship with anyone right now; I might've invited my moms but it's their anniversary and they're away celebrating; and I'm asking you because you _are_ the first friend I'd ask.”

Renato had to smile at that.

“Then what do you propose we see?”

“Hmm...Oh! They're doing The Barber of Seville! Let's see that.”

“That's fine, it's been awhile since I've seen something of Rossini's.”

“Right? Though it's too bad they aren't showing any of Gershwin's works.” 

“Showing non-Italian works would be too cosmopolitan of this theater--they're too big on the classics.”

“Viva l'Italia?”

“Certo.”

\---

It was Renato's birthday, and it was snowing.

The snow had brought the whole of Rome to a silent standstill, the impromptu holiday freeing Renato from having to teach.

So he had decided to wander around for a bit.

The crunch of the snow under his boots filled him with nostalgia for his time abroad.

Snow had a way of amplifying sound.

So the sounds of the fight he heard happening in an alley he passed carried. 

And something about that sound immediately caught his attention, enough to pull him in that direction.

Where he found a man holding his torso, completely surrounded. Slightly beaten but not down for the count, judging by the groaning men on the ground.

“Cocksucker!”

“Oh yes, so original, bravo. Really there, award for best fucking goon dialogue must go to you my good sir, I don't think I've ever heard such uninspiring insults since I was a child.”

Renato's bland disinterest in the situation vanished the second he heard Inari's voice come from the surrounded man.

Taking advantage of the distraction Inari was making, he stalked through the shadows and began rendering the men that had his friend surrounded unconscious with swift prejudice.

In the process, he caught Inari's eyes.

There was the slightest hitch in his taunts before he continued.

And that's all Renato needed to finish up, leaving the leader for last.

“-you really should have just let it go, man. Now you're in trouble and you only have yourself to blame.”

The leader scoffed.

“'Trouble'? From you?”

Inari's grin had teeth.

“Nope.”

Renato grabbed the man's shoulder and leaned down to whisper:

“From me.”

And then he knocked the idiot out.

Both of them took a moment to survey the alleyway to make sure there wasn't anyone hiding.

“Shit, Ren, that was awesome,” Inari gasped, collapsing to the ground. Renato swiftly made his way over, kneeling down next to him.

“What happened?”

Inari flapped the hand not holding his side.

“I went to a club for my birthday and these chucklefucks thought I was flirting with their 'marks', which, by the way, disgusting, and wouldn't leave me alone even after I protested. And I wasn't about to out myself, but they came to the conclusion all by themselves. I'd almost be proud of how hard it must have been for them to think, considering they're all idiots, but me being gay was apparently too much for their puny brains to handle, so they resorted to violence,” he snarked, briefly showing a palm wet with blood before he recovered his wound.

_..._

Renato would leave commenting on how they had the same birthday for later.

Right now he had a hurt friend who needed medical attention for his **stab wound**.

“...Ren?”

He must be making quite the expression for Inari to sound that way.

“You just keep putting pressure on it, I'll call emergency and deal with the situation.”

He slid his phone out of his pocket and dialed.

\---

Freshly out of the hospital after getting stitches, Renato refused to let Inari go home by himself.

And so Renato found himself opening the door to his condo so Inari could carefully make his way in, removing his coat as he entered.

“Man, does teaching pay this well?” Inari wondered, gazing around.

Renato snorted as he hung up his hat, removed his jacket, and loosened his tie.

“Hardly. I'm a stockbroker on the side.”

“I can believe i-oh my god you have a chameleon.”

Renato leaned against the wall as he watched Inari make a beeline for his pet's tank.

“I do.”

“They're adorable, what's their name?”

“Leo.”

“Hey there buddy, who's the cutest reptile,” Inari cooed, devolving into babytalk.

Renato was content to watch, before he thought to ask:

“Are you hungry?”

“Mmmmn, I'm more thirsty than anything. Could I get some water?”

“Of course,” he said, moving to his fridge and grabbing him a bottle.

When he came back into the living room to hand it over, he found Inari staring at him.

He tilted his head.

“What?”

A grin spread across Inari's face.

“Your hair is amazing.”

Given that his hair was usually a disaster, he rather doubted that statement.

“Oh really,” he deadpanned.

Inari's grin somehow grew impossibly bigger.

“Yep, the coolest,” he said, stepping closer to gently tug on a random curl.

Renato bonked him on the head with the water bottle.

Gently.

Well...at least not too hard.

“Oi watch it, don't injure the injured person,” Inari laughed, swiping up the bottle.

“But what should I do when I am hurt too? Cut to the quick by your razor wit,” he drawled, eyes glittering in amusement.

“Well in that case you must of course be excused and apologies must be rendered,” Inari replied brightly, with a bow that caused him to wince.

“Don't pull your stitches.”

“Yeah, yeah...anyways, what did you want to do? If you've got plans just point me in a direction to crash in and I'll get out of your hair.”

“You said my hair was amazing though,” he said in a falsely forlorn tone. “And now you want to get out of it?”

“Well in that case...”

And Inari promptly plunged a hand into his hair.

Which was not the reaction he was expecting.

He blushed.

“Ren,” Inari murmured, gently pulling on him with his grip. He obligingly bent his head down.

“Thank you,” Inari whispered into his ear, before kissing his cheek.

Gently releasing his grip, he smiled at him.

“Can we watch a movie?”

Thereafter, movie and sleepover nights became a weekly thing.

And if he had some certain thoughts, well...at the moment he'd keep them to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least out loud, I won't say~ :3


	3. cenerentola

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the wonderful comments, you're all cuties. ♥

His stitches had finally healed.

Once he had told Renato, he said he was going to give him a thorough lesson in self-defense because, and he quotes: “If ridiculous situations are going to keep happening around you, I want you to be able to protect yourself.”

So here he was, an hour before dawn, finishing a warmup run with Renato.

Their breaths fogged in the air, and if Inari had pretended to be a dragon while they finished their cooldown stretches...Renato hadn't said anything, but his amused eyes spoke for him.

“Alright, now what?”

“Now we make our way back to the studio in my condo and I see where you are.”

“Hoo boy, this's gonna be fun,” he drawled sarcastically.

Renato tilted his head.

“Scared?” 

“Terrified.” 

Inari grinned.

“I saw what you did to those guys you saved me from. You're gonna destroy me, and it's gonna be fantastic.”

\---

He'd transcended pain and entered a numbed state.

Inari was one with the floor. All that existed was the floor, and the floor was all that existed. 

A shoe prodded his side, eliciting a yip from him.

“Cooldown stretches Volpe, then you can go back to being a blob on the floor if you wish.”

Inari groaned, but slowly leveraged himself up to complete Renato's instructions.

\---

Inari and Renato were sitting on the couch off to the side after their session, when Inari couldn't contain his curiosity anymore.

“So when'd you learn all of this?”

Renato eyed him from the side, contemplating his answer.

“...It was just my mother and I. And we lived in...I wouldn't say the 'rougher' part of town, but more in a 'rough' situation. So I learned to protect myself.”

“And the gun?”

“...In Italy, 'teacher' is one of the most disrespected professions.”

Renato tapped his fingers on his thigh deliberately.

“And that disrespect can grow to dangerous proportions.”

Renato smiled mirthlessly.

“And so my teaching mentor was killed in front of me. By a student.

“I learned that here wasn't any safer than where I grew up. So I did what I needed to carry and own my own firearms.

“If I ever did kill a student who came at me with the intent to kill...my career would be over. Because no parent would allow their children to be taught by a 'murderer'.

“But I wouldn't regret it. Because I'd be alive. And they wouldn't.”

Inari had slowly leaned against Renato as he'd talked.

_I'm here._

“Aw, and here I was hoping you were a hitman,” Inari teased gently.

“Perhaps I'll try that if my teaching career ends,” Renato murmured, leaning into Inari's support.

_I know._

\---

Inari had called Renato for a favor.

“Yo Ren, you said you did ballet right?”

Apparently his mothers were organizing a showing of Don Quixote, and the trainers had had an accident before showing the leads the last routine they needed to learn. 

So Inari and Renato would show it to them...once they had practiced it in Renato's huge studio first.

\---

Act 2, pas de deux.

Kitri, the daughter of the local innkeeper Lorenzo, runs into the woods with her lover Basilio, to affirm their love for each other and to protest against her betrothal to the rich nobleman Gamache, who fell in love with her the moment he saw her.

It's a dance filled with joy, passion, and their love for each other.

\---

Renato was gaining a new appreciation for how flexible Inari was as he played the part of Kitri to perfection.

And Inari's eyes sparkled at the ease with which Renato, as Basilio, held him for the lifts and matched his every movement.

And then came the moment they both were waiting for.

Time slowed down.

Inari's eyebrow raised, eyes intent.

_You gonna do it?_

A question, a dare.

Renato's lips quirked as he leaned down.

_Of course._

What was meant to be a brief kiss instead turned into an intense makeout session, Inari clutching Renato's front for leverage in order to meet him halfway.

At an unspoken signal, both of them pulled away from each other.

“ _Hooooooly shit,_ ” Inari breathed, eyes shining with desire. “Can we do that again?”

Renato threw back his head and laughed.

\---

With the production a success, Inari had invited Renato to his mothers' customary celebratory dinner.

“Mom, Mom, this is Renato. Ren, these are my moms, Nana and Lavina.”

“A pleasure,” Renato said with a slight bow of his head.

The hair on the back of his neck raised at the identical sweet smiles directed his way.

This was definitely one of the more menacing moments he'd been in.

“We've been hearing a lot about you,” Lavina started.

“You've been taking care of our Inari,” Nana continued.

“It's nice to finally put a face to the name,” they intoned together, sweet smiles growing.

“...I do my best, but he keeps getting into ridiculous situations,” Renato drawled, shooting Inari a look.

“Hey, it's not my fault!” Inari cried with an overdone offended look on his face.

“Sewers.”

“I was curious!”

“Circus.”

“I was just passing by!”

“ _Power Plant._ ”

“...Okay, even I don't know how that one happened.”

The menacing atmosphere had slowly disappeared while they had bantered, leaving Lavina and Nana smiling warmly towards the bickering duo.

“Come inside, Renato,” Lavina invited.

“Let's celebrate,” Nana agreed with a nod.

\---

After dinner, Inari had pulled Renato upstairs to his room.

Where his attention was immediately caught by a picture.

A stunned wide eyed boy with fluffy brown hair stood next to a grinning wild looking blonde boy.

Renato tilted his head at the picture.

“You have a twin?”

Inari smiled fondly.

“Yeah, that's my Bro-Bro, Tsuna. He's away on call right now; you know the R.E.D.? He works in their animal rescue division.”

Inari laughed, sitting down on the bed.

“We were all really surprised when he said he wanted to be a vet. When we lived in Japan, our neighbor had a chihuahua--and Tsuna was deathly afraid of him. One day he even climbed a tree to escape the barking. I'd gotten ready to run him off, but Tsuna barked back at the dog and suddenly his fear was gone. When I asked him what happened, he said, 'I just realized he was scared too.'”

“How long did you live in Japan?” Renato asked as he sat next to Inari.

Inari's smiled dimmed a bit.

“Not long. We were five when dad died in a construction accident. It was really hard on Nana; Lavina really helped us out a lot. So when we heard there was a cure for her illness here in Italy, we decided to leave those memories behind and move on.”

Inari smirked.

“Italy's laws on same-sex marriages were just a bonus after that.”

“They do look marvelously in love.”

“Yep.”

Their hands twined together.

\---

Inari had been invited to a fairly serious dinner party, and he'd been freaking out about it ever since he'd gotten the invitation.

Luckily, he was allowed to bring a plus one.

And Renato knew just what to do to break through Inari's panic.

_Everyone always underestimated how useful his minor in Drama was._

Renato was in the process of applying his lipstick when he heard Inari letting himself in with the key that he had given him.

He was over so often, Renato had gotten tired of letting him in every time.

_He was always welcome here._

“Ren?”

“One moment,” Renato called, slipping his feet into his heels before emerging from his room and artfully posing, yellow dress swirling around his hips.

Inari's jaw dropped.

Renato fluttered his eyelashes.

“What do you think?”

Inari just stood there, stunned, staring.

His hands slowly rose to cover his face as he screamed into them, before he lowered them.

“You _peacock_ ,” Inari said, laughing, eyes impossibly warm.

“Ah, I love you.”

Renato blushed.

He was used to lust, not this-this-

_Such a surprising man._

Every time he peeled back a layer, there's just more layers.

...

Renato swatted at Inari, which had him dancing out of the way, laughing.

“Woah hey, what's that for?”

“You've infected my inner monologue.”

Inari's eyes widened, grin blinding.

“With what?”

“Onions have layers,” he deadpanned with his best Scottish accent.

Inari started laughing like a hyena.

“Shrek!?”

Renato watched Inari laugh and came to a decision.

This man, who just kept throwing himself out there, hoping, dreaming...

_Let's make his dreams come true._

Renato stepped closer.

“Do you know why I call you Volpe?”

Inari shook his head, laughter dying down.

“Because you tried to steal my heart-”

A flash of a smirk.

“-and I let you.”

His smirk softened into a gentler smile.

“Ti amo, Inari,” he murmured.

Inari eyes widened before he burst into tears.

“Ah, fuck man, sorry, I'm just, really fucking happy,” Inari said, voice muffled from his hands cupped over his nose and mouth.

Renato smiled as he curled his arms around Inari's waist.

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the routine I based the ballet scene on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJo39pcjhOw  
> :3


	4. gli amanti

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mood: _Screaming about the newest chapter of Despite What You've Been Told_
> 
> Also Drink, Drank, Drunk is such a good chapter title; I think of the shugo chara song with Drew, Draw, Drawn everytime and all I can think of is Inari in a magical girl outfit.
> 
> ~~I wanted to add an Inari Minerva/Minnie the Mouse reference in here somewhere but it just didn't fit (In that it's not quite confirmed yet. I try to only make references to confirmed things.)~~

Inari jumped him after his graduation ceremony; his robes make it slightly more difficult than usual for Renato to catch him.

Inari breaks from the kiss, grinning.

“I did it!”

“You did,” Renato agreed quietly, smile small but impossibly warm.

\---

Inari was transfixed.

A heat wave had hit, and Renato had bowed to it enough to roll up his sleeves.

Even in this heat though, he maintained his gun on the same schedule like clockwork.

Watching him take his gun apart...

_God I wish that was me._

“This is foreplay y'know.”

Renato's eyes flash to him, a smile growing.

“Good to know.”

\---

“I think you missed a spot,” Renato said, amused.

Inari propped his chin on Renato's thigh, gently nuzzling a certain body part and grinning at the reaction that got.

“Yeah? Where?”

Renato snarled playfully before gripping Inari's head and moving it right where he wanted it.

“Here.”

“Oooooh, I'll have to fix that then,” Inari chirped brightly.

And then Inari swallowed Renato all the way to the hilt.

Renato's hand in his hair tightened.

\---

They'd worked out a system for their anniversary, after what happened on their third.

Valentines joined the tradition after their fourth.

(Both of them insisted it was their best yet; everybody who'd been around to experience their games of one-upmanship to see who could better express their affection vehemently disagreed.)

So now they take turns.

Renato takes the even years, and Inari takes the odds.

(It appeals to both their sensibilities; Renato's love for symmetry, and Inari's fascination for things that don't fit.)

So when Inari wakes up to warmth surrounding him, he twitches to attention.

In various ways.

Renato moved his mouth away just enough to murmur, “Good morning,” against his skin before swallowing him once more.

_Good morning, indeed._

\---

“I'll clean the sheets because I love you.”

\---

Inari was on a ramble about the current economic state of the world.

Renato would join the conversation, but he hadn't slept in 2 days.

He would much rather just lay here on Inari's lap and watch him.

He loved Inari's expressions; how quickly he can switch between emotions. He's got all of his expressions memorized and sorted away in his mind—this eyebrow angle means this, that nose wrinkle means that.

A sparkling map of facial geometry rested inside his head.

He loved his smiles.

“Mio Caro.”

Inari instantly looked down at him, his hand pausing its strokes through his hair.

He grinned.

“Ooo, new petname? I love it~ And yeah, what's up?”

“Kiss me.”

“So demanding, My Lord.”

He loved feeling Inari's smiles against his skin the most.

\---

It's a quiet day for them.

Inari was feeding Leo some crickets.

They crunched.

Renato was sitting on the couch making a sweater.

The needles flashed.

Inari hummed.

Renato hummed back.

“Hey, did you want to go skydiving?”

“Sure, once I'm done with this.”

Inari walked over to watch Renato's beautifully skillful fingers seemingly materialize a sweater out of thin air.

“I still don't understand why if it's called a 'virgin-killer' you want me to wear it.”

Inari batted his eyelashes.

“Neither of us has been a virgin for a long time.”

Renato laughed.

“Too true. But just as I wear your requests on occasion, I wish for you to wear mine.”

“Fair. That garter belt that you wore last time was a fucking bullseye in my strike zone.”

Renato's fingers stuttered momentarily as his mind flashes back to that night, Inari's neverending stream of praise and compliments burning into his skin.

“We both learned things about ourselves that night.”

“Damn right we did.”

\---

Inari kissed Renato on both cheeks.

“Ciao, Ren. I'll be back before you know it.”

As Renato watched a beautiful suit-clad Inari walk onto his plane for his assignment, all he can feel is a vague sense of unease.

_I don't like this._

\---

“I'm home.”

Inari's call was done out of habit.

Mainly because he had deliberately chosen a time for his return flight that would land exactly within Renato's class time.

He knew it would irritate Renato to see him already home, but he knew that Renato would much rather have the reaction he would have when he saw him in private than in the middle of the airport.

Dropping his suitcase by the couch, he went into the kitchen to make himself an icepack.

Which would be easier if he had full range of motion in both of his arms.

Settling wearily down onto the couch, he exhaled in pain as he gently set the towel-wrapped icepack onto his shoulder.

As he closed his eyes, he called out:

“Alexa, play Despacito.”

Silence filled with the sounds of Luis Fonsi's voice, he drifted off to daydreams of Renato's touch.

\---

Renato could feel it the second he stepped through the door.

He wasn't alone.

Silencing his steps, he drew his gun, and started the process of clearing his home room by room.

His methodicalness went out the window the second he looked into the living room from his cover. 

“Inari!”

Inari startled awake on the couch, hissing in pain as he jostled the towel on his shoulder.

Renato strode over to the couch in long strides, clicking his safety on and sliding his gun back into its holster before kneeling in front of his love.

Inari smiled weakly.

“Hey, Ren. I missed you.”

Renato's hands tightened on Inari's knees involuntarily as he took in his condition.

“Why are you injured?”

Inari grimaced.

“Sniper.”

Renato went deathly still.

His senses sharpened drastically.

It had been a long time since he had been so filled with rage.

He snarled, his hands spasming against Inari's knees.

“Are they dead?”

“Unfortunately. They jumped and suicide-bombed the plaza where the event was taking place.”

Renato's eyes flashed once more in fury, before he closed them and took a slow breath in and out.

Opening his eyes, he slowly leaned up and kissed Inari tenderly.

“I'll ask you for the details later. I missed you as well, mio tesoro.”

\---

Months later, way after Inari's gunshot wound had healed, Inari woke up alone in bed. Renato had said he had important business he needed to travel for, but hoped to finish it as efficiently as possible.

Making breakfast for himself, he turned on the TV for background noise only to do a double take at the news story currently running.

About how the terrorist cell that had targeted him on that one assignment had been massacred.

“Fuck damn, Ren?” Inari breathed.

“Yes.”

“Holy shit!”

Inari whirled around.

Renato stood there, suit distinctly ruffled.

He smelled of gunpowder.

“Really?” Inari asked.

“Really,” Renato confirmed.

“Have you been planning this since I got shot?”

“Yes.”

“Any chance the police can pin it on you?”

“None. I was thorough.”

Inari stared for a bit, before he strode over so he could reach up to cup Renato's face.

“That's so hot. Take me.”

Renato's hands covered his as he turned his face to press a kiss against his palm, eyes locked with his.

“With pleasure.”

\---

Cuddling in the afterglow, Renato asked softly:

“Would you let me be your bodyguard?”

Inari glanced up sharply.

“Is that a proposal?”

“You could take it as one.”

“Then yes. And yes.” 

Inari's golden eyes seemed to glow in the dim lighting.

“But only if you realize that if you fucking die for me I'll be joining you very soon afterwards.”

“Inari-”

“No, Renato. I love you. I won't live without you. Don't ask me to exist until I die of heartbreak when I could end the pain.”

“...Then I'll just have to become the best.”

“Bodyguard? Or husband?”

“Why not both?”

Inari snorted as he settled his head back against Renato's chest.

“I want us to choose each other's rings.”

“I get to veto if you try to give me a cock ring.”

Inari burst out laughing at that.

“Would I do that to you?”

“Always, guaio,” Renato teased affectionately.

“Ah, sweetheart, my heart's all aflutter. Such a sweet talker.”

“I know of sweeter things. Shall I show you?”

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing playlist:  
> first half--library on shuffle  
> second half:  
> Luis Fonsi-Despacito  
> Halsey-Control  
> Andy Powell-I'm Trouble
> 
> Hugs for everyone; hope y'all are staying healthy and happy and safe.


End file.
